While The Faerie Queen counts as his masterpiece, it is in his shorter poetry that Edmund Spenser (c. 1552-99) showed his supreme versatility and skill as eulogist, satirist, pastoral poet and prophet. The Shepheardes Calendar marks a turning point in literary history, as the anonymous author confidently asserts his faith in the native vigour of the English language and stakes his claim to be the successor of Virgil and Chaucer. The Amoretti and Hymnes reveal an acute sense of how erotic and even religious love are shot through with vanity and narcissism. Mother Hubberds Tale - an Elizabethan Animal Farm - savagely satirises the sexual jealousy and political disarray at the heart of the Queen's court. This new Penguin English Poets edition contains all Spenser's English poetry apart from The Faerie Queene, as well as his Latin verse (together with a new translation). Detailed notes illuminate his many allusions to biblical, classical and contemporary literature.
